Reason To Exist
by Nameless
Summary: A short piece of Awaker and the party during the last boss fight.


Disclaimer: Characters below are property of Midway, not mine.

**Reason To Exist**

Johnny Garland took a few steps back, keeping his distance from what used to be his sister and the pulsating, quivering red mass of Malice. Things had not been going right for him and his friends; the death of Lady's only acquaintance and love only served to increase her control over the Malice that makes up her body. Combined with the massive sphere that shot out piercing red light with its every move, the party had been relentlessly pounded on by their combined attacks.

Johnny took a moment to survey his surroundings. Off to his side, his giant, talking cat companion is lying on her back, face up. Her belly, no doubt bloated with her favorite wine, blocked Johnny's view of her face. She was still breathing, though, as her chest rose and fell in a slow, yet steady, pattern. Further still, Johnny spotted his mariachi friend on a sitting position, leaning back against a wall that seemed to be made of living, red flesh. He weakly raised his guitar up, and sighed, noticing that he had broken a string. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the hyperactive ninja and the young female vampire team up for a combined attack on Lady. The latter summoned a group of pumpkins that bounded towards her target while the other launched out a miniature bomb from the demon head that he wore on his belly. Johnny watched as their attacks were deflected by the barely visible, yet powerful, barrier that surrounded Lady.

Behind him, the silent Native American gunslinger was crouched down on one knee, motionless. He was attempting to recuperate from a nearly fatal blow that he took in place of his Princess, and seeing his normally tough comrade so weak and vulnerable made Johnny extremely uneasy. Slightly in front of him, the woman who he shielded was in no better shape; she had let her impulses take over her again and leaped at Lady early in battle, fusing into the Sun spirit in mid-air. Logically, Lady found her the best fit to let out her frustrations on, and blasted her oncoming attacker with a powerful attack. If her faithful guardian hadn't been there to help her repel the blow, she certainly would have been mortally injured.

Still, the assault left her reeling, and the impact was so great that she was sent flying back. Her concentration momentarily broke, and she could not keep up her fusion. Back in her original body, she struggled to stand up to continue opposing her adversary.

Johnny seemed to instantly know what he had to do.

But what he needed to do didn't exactly have to be what he wanted to do as well. After all, the last time it happened, he had wiped out all his friends, and wasn't even aware of it until they were all heavily injured. He wondered if his spirit had grown enough since then, if he had enough willpower within him to prevent such a scene again. Would he retain his consciousness and remain the same person? Frustratingly enough, the only way of finding out would be to proceed with the act. His gaze turned, almost automatically, to the fallen female warrior by his side. The look in her eyes seemed to imply that she knew as well, knew that there were no other choices and that they had to take that gamble.

Johnny turned back to the form that physically resembled his sister, and prepared himself to do what he may later regret. He cleared his mind and concentrated, and almost immediately he could sense an increase in the amount of red light surrounding him. It was easier than he thought; already he was beginning to feel something dwell up within him. At the same time, there was a certain fear that came with it. Johnny felt as though he was driving a car that was constantly speeding up: he knew that he must stop the process before he crossed the threshold and lost himself permanently.

Through the blinding red masses that surrounded him, Johnny took another glimpse at the battlefield, and saw his friends for possibly the last time:

Mao, whose chest seemed to rise and fall less frequently;

Ricardo, whose sombrero had fallen to cover his face from sight. Johnny wondered if he was still breathing;

Frank and Hilda, who attempted another combination attack, only to be violently cast aside by their target's counterattack;

Natan, who was now lying face down on the ground, not moving. Johnny again thought if he was dead;

His glance finally met Shania's again for that one instant…and that was all he could remember before the world disappeared in a flash of red.

---

Shania stared at Johnny's transformed shape with both hope and unsettlement. Her instincts were telling her to keep some distance from him, in case the incident should repeat itself again…yet her battle-fatigued body refused to move. She stared into those cold, unfeeling, red eyes…and he stared back. It was impossible to read any emotions from that gaze, and for a moment Shania was convinced that her fears had become true.

The newly manifested fighter did not move for a few good moments. Then, almost mechanically, he raised up his double-sided weapon, and prepared to strike. Shania closed her eyes…

…and opened them to the sight of Awaker clashing with the Malice-filled Lady.

She smiled.


End file.
